There's nothing better for business than a booming economy. Unfortunately, it often encourages faulty thinking and spawns erroneous ideas. When sales are strong and profits meet projections, we're quick to take the credit. When things go sour, external forces get the blame.
A good economy tends to mask distorted thinking and inappropriate ideas. For example, personal computer sales have been drifting downward, even while prices have been dropping. Manufacturers are petrified. Out of near desperation, they jack up power to a sizzling 500 MHz to try to capture customer attention. Just as this happens, free PCs appear. In the midst of all this, one company rediscovers itself. To IBM's credit, it figured out what business it's in: solutions.

AGENCY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: CONTROL EXPENSES AND BUILD YOUR BOTTOM LINE by Sharon Cunningham Proven ways to increase potential earnings and investment value of your business. You might...

GETTING A COMPANY APPOINTMENT: PART 1 by David Stambaugh This first article in a two-part series shows how to get a company appointment that can benefit you, your clients, and your carr...

SELF-INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION/CAPTIVES IN A HARDENING MARKET by Carol Hammes Self-insurance programs, captives, and risk retention groups will grow dramatically as premiums increase. U...

UPDATE ON AGENCY VALUATION By Carol Hammes We have lost count of the number of telephone calls that we have received recently asking us what the going rate is for the sale of an insurance agency. ...

USING OPERATING RATIOS AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL TO INCREASE AGENCY VALUE by Robert Westin The days of determining value solely by applying an assumed multiple to gross commissi...